. 


GIFT  OF 


KB, .-.: 


EVIDENCE    OF    ALTERNATIVE    INHERITANCE 

IN  THE  F2  GENERATION  FROM  CROSSES 

OF  BOS  INDICUS  ON  BOS  TAURUS 


DR.  ROBERT  K.  NABOURS 


NEW  YORK 
1912 


[Reprinted  without  change  of  paging,  from  the  AMERICAN  NATURALIST,  1912.] 


[Keprinteri  from  TH£  AMERICAN  NATURALIST,  Vol.  XLVL,  July.  1912.  J 


KVIDENOE    OF    ALTERNATIVE    INHEEITANCE 

IX  THE  F_  GENERATION  FROM  CROSSES 

OF  BOS  INDICUS  ON  BOS  TAURUS 

DR.   ROBERT   K.   NABOURS 

KAKSAS  STATE  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE 

THE  common  domestic  cattle  of  India  appear  to  be  a 
distinct  §pecies  (Bos  iiidicus).  They  are  mainly  charac- 
terized by  a  large  hump  on  the  fore  shoulders,  short 
horns,  large  drooping  ears,  extensive  dewlap  and  sheath 
(Fig.  1).  There  are  several  varieties,  or  breeds,  but  they 
are  so  commonly  hybridized  that  it  is  exceedingly  difficult 
to  ascertain  which  are  the  pure  strains  and  which  hybrids. 
In  this  respect  they  are  probably  analogous  to  Bos 
taunts.  In  size  they  vary  greatly,  ranging  from  very 
diminutive  breeds  to  those  the  largest  individuals  of 
which  weigh  upwards  of  2,000  pounds.  Th<?  males  are 
considerably  heavier  than  the  cows.  The  colors  also  vary 
considerably,  the  most  common  being  creamy  buff,  brown, 
ashy  gray,  red,  black  and  white,  and  blends  of  these. 

They  appear  to  be  highly  resistant  to  the  cattle  dis- 
eases of  tropical  and  subtropical  countries,  and  they  are 
immune  to  the  attacks  of  cattle  ticks,  that  is,  ticks  do  not 
remain  attached  to  them  and  suck  their  blood  (Figs.  1 
and  9),  and  they  are  said  to  be  less  liable  to  suffer  from 
the  effects  of  the  bites  of  insects  than  any  of  the  breeds  of 
Bos  taurus. 

They  are  very  gentle  and  docile.  In  India  the  males 
are  used  as  beasts  of  draught,  and  are  yoked  to  the  plow, 
being  the  main  animal  used  for  tilling  the  ground.  They 
are  very  agile,  being  able  to  travel  thirty  or  more  miles 
a  day,  carrying  a  heavy  burden,  or  drawing  a  cart  with  a 
considerable  load  on  it.  Recently  they  have  been  intro- 
duced into  Jamaica  in  considerable  numbers,  where  they 

4'_>8 


526789 


129 


•////•:   .l.i//-.7//r.l.V  NATURALIST        [VOL.  Xl.\'l 


Fi'..   1.     Imported  bull    (Bun  im/iVi/.-- 1.     When  In  good  condition. 

this    bull    \V4>ij:hs    U.^im    imuUils. 

are  used  on  the  banana  plantations.  It  is  generally  re- 
ported that  the  strong  draught  oxen  of  Spain  have  been 
derived  from  crosses  between  Indian  cattle  and  the  native 
Spanish  cattle,  but  the  evidence  is  at  best  only  anecdotal 
and  nothing  whatsoever  seems  to  have  been  recorded  of 


Fio.  2.     Cows  and  calves   (Has  intlii-u*  i. 


Xo.  547]     ALTI-:J!\.[?IVK  IXIIERITANCE  IN  BOS          430 

the  inheritance  behavior  of  the  progeny  of  any  of  the 
crosses. 

The  hump  of  some  of  the  largest  specimens  may  weigh 
as  much  as  fifty  pounds,  and  it  is  esteemed  by  English 
residents  of  India  as  a  delicacy  for  the  table.  From  the 
Persian  province  of  Gilan,  on  the  Caspian,  the  humps, 
smoked,  of  a  small  breed  are  shipped  to  parts  of  Russia 
where  they  are  in  much  demand  as  a  delicacy.  The  meat, 
products  of  these  cattle,  on  the  whole,  are  said  to  be 
unexcelled.  Some  of  the  breeds  give  milk  that  is  ex- 
cessively rich  in  quality,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  any 
of  them  produce  it  in  large  quantities. 

It  appears  that  Brahma  (Bos  indicus)  cattle  were  first 
brought  to  the  United  States  in  1853  by  Mr.  Davis,  of 
South  Carolina.  These  cattle  were  subsequently  taken 
westward  and  their  progeny  distributed  throughout  the 
southwest  and  parts  of  Mexico.  In  southern  Texas  and 
parts  of  Mexico  there  are  many  native  cattle  that  are 
said  to  carry  the  blood  of  these  cattle  and  other  Indian 
stock  which  were  secured  from  menageries  and  circuses. 
The  common  brindle  cattle  of  these  regions  are  said  to  be 
descendants  of  the  Indian  on  native  cattle.  Wherever 
these  part  Indian  cattle  are  found  there  is  a  general  im- 
pression among  stockmen  that  they  are  thriftier  and 
larger  than  the  native  stock  and  more  resistant  to  the 
ravages  of  diseases,  ticks,  and  insect  pests. 

.In  1906  Mr.  A.  P.  Borden,  of  Pierce,  Texas,  imported 
about  thirty  head  of  Brahma  cattle,  mostly  young  bulls,, 
and  since  then  he  has  been  crossing  them  quite  exten- 
sively on  native  Texas  cattle  and  on  grade  Durhams  and 
on  grade  Herefords.  For  an  account  of  the  experiences 
in  importing  these  cattle  and  the  beginning  of  the  experi- 
ment, the  reader  is  referred  to  Mr.  Borden 's  interesting 
paper,  "Indian  Cattle  in  the  United  States,"  The  Ameri- 
can Breeder's  Magazine,  Vol.  1,  No.  2. 

In  September,  1911,  Mr.  Borden  kindly  permitted  me 
to  visit  his  herds  for  the  purpose  of  studying  them  and 
making  photographs.  The  following  preliminary  ac- 


431 


'////.    .\Ml-:illc.\X  NATURALISE         [VOL.  XLV1 


count  of  three  of  the  herds  is  -iven.  hccause  they  tend  to 
show  definite  inheritance  results.  The  study  of  the  herds 
and  the  work  of  making  the  photographs  were  greatly 
hampered  l.y  tlie  absence  of  the  head  herdsman,  the  rain. 


I'li;.  .".      !•',   hybrids   from  ISn*   imlii-iiK   mi  Ileivi'ord.     The  heifer  on   Hie  right 

•  il    l.Hcill    pounds    ;ll     t  \vrlve    ninnllis    "1    :ige.       'I'll.'    lillll    .ill    the    left     weighed 
J.4.">i>  JM, mids  MI   twein.v  six  iiinnllis  of  ;i(ie.     riintii  fiiniislu-il  liy  Mr.  A.   !'.  llonleii. 

and  the  very  short  time  at  my  disposal.     I  plan  to  make 
a  further  study  of  them  at  an  early  date. 

Whenever  the  Brahma  cattle  have  heen  crossed  on 
irrade  or  pure  I  lerefords,  the  color  characters  of  the 
latter  are  on  the  whole  dominant  in  the  F,  progeny  (Figs. 


I '!•;  t.  llytiriils  from  litts  indicii*  on  Hereford  :in«l  I>urham.  The  bull  in  the 
center  Is  from  Hereford  mother  and  weighed  about  1.40O  pounds  at  22  months 
of  age.  All  nre  tick-free. 


Xo.  547]       ALTERNATIVE   JM/l-:iilT. \.\CK   IN  BOS  432 

3  and  4).  The  F,  progeny  from  crosses  on  grade  Dur- 
ham show  the  Durham  color  and  other  characters  to  be 
dominant.  The  progeny  from  crosses  on  native  Texas 
cattle  of  unknown  constitution  are  very  variable.  In 
some  cases  the  F,  progeny  from  the  latter  resemble  the 
Brahma  greatly.  However,  this  apparent  dominance  ot 
the  Brahma  in  many  cases,  when  crossed  on  native  cattle, 
is  probably  altogether  due  to  the  fact  that  a  considerable 
proportion  of  the  native  cattle  already  have  Brahma 
characters  in  them — their  immunity  to  ticks  and  other  de- 
sirable qualities  having  favored  their  perpetuation  since 
the  early  'introduction  of  the  Davis  and  other  Brahma 
stock. 

HEED  No.  1 

This  herd  consists  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  Fl  cows 
(Fig.  5,  adults)  from  a  white  Brahma  sire  on  grade  Dur- 


l-'n:.  .">.  F!  mothers  from  Bus  intlicus  on  grade  Durham  and  a  few  grade  Here- 
fords.  The  white  calf,  <m  the  right,  is  from  Fi  half-brother  of  the  cows.  The 
pure  Durham  calf,  on  left,  and  hybrid  In  center  are  from  Durham  sire. 

hams  and  a  few  grade  Herefords.  Twenty-four  of  these 
F!  cows  were  mated  to  their  Brahma-Durham  F,  half- 
brother,  and  eighteen  F2  calves  were  produced.  Of 
these,  six  are  white  and  resemble  the  grandfather  white 
Brahma.  One  of  the  calves  is  shown  in  Fig.  5,  on  the 
right.  The  remaining  twelve  F2  calves  from  these 
crosses  of  hybrid  X  hybrid  resemble  the  Durham  mostly, 


433 


•////•:   AMERICAN  NATURALIST        [Vou  XLYI 


though  there  is  evidence  of  the  Hereford  ehanu-tei-s  in  a 
few.  A  few  of  these  Fj  cows  were  mated  to  a  registered 
Durham  bull.  Only  two  of  the  F,  calves  from  these  crosses 
wsre  observed.  They  are  shown  in  Fig.  5,  on  the  left  and 
in  the  middle.  The  one  on  the  left  is  a  pure  Durham  in 
all  respects.  The  one  in  the  center  is  a  typical  Brahma 
Durham  hybrid.  A  downpour  of  rain  and  the  scattering 
of  the  herd  prevented  further  observations. 

IlEKIi   No.   -2 

The  Fj  cows  of  this  herd  are  the  product  of  a  Brahma 
male  on  grade  Hereford  and  grade  Durham  in  about 


!'!'•.   (I.     The  rows  arc  from  Bon  indivtis  on  impure  I>urh.-un.  and  the  calves 
from  these  I'i  cows  hred  hack  to  Has  im/iYn*. 

ei|iial  proportion.     These  Fl  cows  show  the  color  char- 
acters  of  the  Hereford  and  Durham  quite   distinctly, 


1'n:.    7.     The  yearlings  are  from    /;•,*   iiiilirus  x  high-grade  Hereford   I"i 
hylirids  hri-d  back  to  Bon   iinlii-iix. 

though  there   is    slight   evidence   of  the   hump   of   the 
Brahma  sire,  and  the  dewlap  is  somewhat  enlarged  (Fig. 


No.  547]       ALTEIIXATIVK   IXJIEWTAXCE   IX   DOS  434 

0,  adult).  (The  brothers  of  these  cows  were  not  ob- 
served.) The  F2  calves  of  this  herd  are  from  a  Brahma 
sire  on  these  Fj  cows.  My  notes  fail  to  show  whether  or 
not  the  sire  of  the  F2  calves  is  the  same  as  that  of  their 
F!  mothers.  The  sire  of  the  F2  calves  appears  to  be  in- 
termediate in  color  between  the  white  and  brown  Brahma. 
The  calves  are  of  two  distinct  types,  about  one-half  of 
them  having  the  Brahma  characters  and  the  other  half 
bearing  the  characters  of  their  hybrid  mothers  (Fig. 
6,  calves).  In  the  figure  (Fig.  6)  a  good  type  of  the 
hybrid  resembling  the  mother  is  the  sucking  calf  at  the 
right,  while  several  apparently  pure  Brahmas  are  shown 
in  the  foreground. 

HERD  No.  3 

The  Fj  cows  of  this  herd  are  the  progeny  from  a 
Brahma  sire  on  high  grade  Hereford  cows.  The  F2 
calves  and  yearlings  are  from  another  Brahma  sire  on  the 
Brahma-Hereford  hybrid.  On  counting  these  thirty-two 
calves  and  yearlings,  it  was  found  that  seventeen  of  them 
resemble  mostly  the  sire  and  grandsiro  Brahma  while 
fifteen  come  nearer  to  the  type  of  the  hybrid  mothers 
(Fig.  7,  calves  and  yearlings). 

CONCLUSIONS    CONCERNING    THE    INHERITANCE    BEHAVIOR 

It  appears  that  the  color  patterns  of  Herefords  and 
Durhams  are  dominant  in  the  Fl  generation.  However, 
the  hump,  large  sheath  and  dewlap  of  the  Brahma  show 
slightly  in  the  Brahma  X  Hereford  or  Durham  F1 
progeny.  It  is  clear  that  in  the  F2  generation,  pure 
Brahma  and  pure  Durham  are  segregated.  Indications 
are  that  when  the  parent  strains  are  pure  the  segregation 
follows  the  simple  law  of  alternative  (Mendelian)  in- 
heritance. However,  the  conditions  of  the  experiment, 
the  lack  of  full  knowledge  of  the  constitution  of  the 
parents  and  the  inadequate  observations  prevent  any 
positive  conclusions  as  yet  concerning  the  ratios. 


435  •/•///•:  AMERICAN  NATU&ALIS1         [VOL.  XLVI 

IM.MI-XITY  TO  THE  TKXAS  CATTI.I:  TICKS 
I  am  able  fully  to  confirm  Mr.  Borden's  statements 
(foe.  rit.)  that  the  pure  Brahma  cattle  and  the  hybrids 
are  perfectly  immune  to  the  Texas  cattle  tick.  Fig.  8 
shows  the  ordinary  conditions  of  the  native  Durham  or 
HerelWd  rattle,  while  Figs.  '.),  1  and  :!  show  the  condi- 


Fio.   8. 


A    tlck-ini'i'sti'il    llerefnnl 

COW. 


Kir,.  0.     A  Bos  indictts  cow  free 
from  ticks. 


Karh  of  these  cows  has  suckled  a  calf  (lurini;  HIM  sumniMi-  and  hotli 
have  been  together  in  the  same  pasture. 

tions  of  the  pure  Brahma  and  hybrids  all  running 
together  on  the  same  range.  I  was  not  able  to  ascertain 
definitely  the  inheritance  behavior  of  this  character  (im- 
munity to  ticks)  in  the  F2  progeny.  However,  it  is  ex- 
pected that  data  on  this  point  will  be  available  in  the 
or  summer  of  191± 


SIZE  AND  PROLIFICNESS 

The    statement    by   Mr.   Borden    (loc.    cit.)    that   the 
hybrids  running  on  the  range  average  about  50  per  cent. 


No.  547]       ALTERNATIVE   1\HKU1'I'A.\  <  !•:    IX   BOS  430 

larger  than  the  ordinary  native  range  cattle  is  fully  con- 
firmed by  my  observations.  The  hybrids  shown  in  Fig. 
4  (center),  which  had  had  no  other  advantage  than  the 
range  conditions,  weighed  1,400  pounds  at  two  years  old. 
The  hybrid  heifer,  shown  in  Fig.  3  (at  the  right),  which 
had  run  on  the  range,  weighed  1,000  pounds  at  twelve 
months  old.  The  bull,  Fig.  3  (on  the  left),  weighed  1,450 
pounds  at  26  months  of  age.  These  weights  appeared  to 
me  to  be  more  than  50  per  cent,  greater  than  the  average 
of  the  native  cattle  at  the  same  age  kept  under  similar 
circumstances. 

A  pure  '-Brahma  bull  will  put  seventy-five  to  eighty 
cows  with  calf  each  season,  while  the  native  or  even  high- 
grade  Hereford  or  Durham  will  impregnate  only  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  cows. 

I  desire  to  express  my  gratitude  to  Mr.  Borden  for 
courtesies  shown  me  while  studying  and  photographing 
the  herds  and  for  reading  and  correcting  the  manuscript, 
and  to  Professor  T.  J.  Headlee  for  the  arrangements 
which  made  the  trip  possible;  I  am  further^  indebted 
to  Professor  Headlee  for  suggestions  while  writing  the 
paper  and  arranging  the  illustrations. 


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